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DEUTSCHE ÜBERSETZUNG

One of the most important things in life is to live in a mindful, non destructive way towards the earth.

Since I am a traveler and we are living in an oh so much travelled world, in this article I want to pay particular attention to that. I want to try to give some very few practical advises to keep our impact on nature and humans as low as possible.

I believe travelling itself can possibly reduce but also increase our impact on the environment.
As a lifestyle I like to be believe it can be a statement and a conscious respond to our consumerist life.
I will try to focus on solutions rather then mentioning the many ways we are polluting our planet and with that ourselves!

1. Travelling and mobility:

Don’t fly!

Easier said then done. Just because flights are ridiculously cheap, doesn’t mean we can’t travel other ways. A key understanding in life for me is, that there are almost always alternatives! So even if it is uncomfortable, more expensive or time exhausting it still remains your choice whether or not you take a plain or not. Let’s try not to.

Also if you believe you won’t make a difference I believe you will. I am for instance inspired to write this by a couple from Belgium that I met in Thailand that insistently travels without flying! Impressive they just won’t do it and thereby they are of an example to others. And let’s face it everyone knows peak oil is reality and flying will be a thing of the past sooner or later.

Be creative when travelling. Use public transportation. Use local buses, trains, boats etc. Avoid specific tourist transportation,taxis and especially all fancy means of transportation. Travel by bike, walk a lot, hitch hike, share rides. Avoid flying wherever you can.
Be creative!

2. Food and drinks:

Eat vegetarian and or vegan, don’t accept any wrapping, eat locally produced foods(avoid imported food),try to eat organic(no support for pesticide use and genetically modified production) , no processed foods, …
Oh that’s a lot and very hard to realize but it’s the path not the goal!

FOOD:

Be conscious about what you eat and where you eat it.
About 40% of our CO2 emissions come from meat production whereas only 10% come from all means of transportation combined.
We should not in any way support factory farming which has zero benefits to us under the current system!
Another big problem related to food is the food wrapping. A practical solution especially for all take away foods including groceries, that we for sure going to buy in the course of our travels, is to buy a food container and hand bag!
You can also try to reuse plastic bags or similar stuff – recycle – downcylce – be creative!
You immediately will keep your garbage production way lower and you will be an example for locals and fellow travellers!
Everyone should already have some awareness about the plastic problematic, doing that you have just come up with an easy practical solution!

Similar to food most of our drinks come in some sort of once usable wrapping whether it is beer, water, soft drinks etc.
Most of that stuff we drink, is poising ourselves anyhow but that is a different issue.

– bring a water bottle, bring a water sack, bring a water filter,

to avoid unnecessary garbage production and waste of your money!No matter where or when, we are constantly dependent on water. Very often we have to buy plastic bottles and drinks that come in heaps of plastic or tin or other toxic stuff. Plastic is everything but sustainable and there are so many bad things connected with it.( air pollution, water pollution, energy waste, intoxication of our bodies, cancer…)

Bring a water bottle ! ( Sigg, KleanKantteen, etc.) It can be used pretty much indefinite and you ll save the money to buy water all the time. There are plenty of places to get water free or very cheap without having to buy plastic bottles. There are refill stations, guesthouses have filtered water, tap water very often is drinkable,you can collect rain water and so forth… Bring(optional) a water sack 2l to 4l it can act as a pillow no matter if full or empty.If empty it takes no space or weight and if you need more water when you travel or go for long walks you got a convenient way to store your water. Bring (optional for camping especially) a water pump filter. It provides you with the ultimate freedom for all outdoor activities. We are also using the filter to filter tap water if there is no other way to get water again safes money and garbage. Awesome invention

3.COSMETICS:

At first ask yourself what do I really, really need. Question your actual need for cosmetic products.
We tend to collect heaps of them around us at home why? What for?
Nevertheless the things you really need they should be wisely chosen.
Try and buy exclusively vegan or vegetarian products that are of your best knowledge biodegradable.
Pay attention to the packaging. Start making products yourself.
One obvious reason is not not support animal experiments. If a product is so toxic that it needs to undergo
these crucial practises before it can be used on humans we shouldn’t touch that stuff anyway!
Most importantly all these products will go down the drain or ends up on the dumpsters land fields to be burned or buried. Other than back home where we have water filtration systems and quite advances recycling programs the third world doesn’t have any of that!!!
We got to keep that in mind all the soap and shampoo toothpaste and everything else we are using goes straight in to the streams, lakes and rivers and ends up in the soil and in the oceans where it will be recycled into the food chain. In anyway just like with everything else, cosmetic products should be bought and used in wise moderation.
Be mindful with your use age of toilette paper most of it comes from cutting down trees just to wipe asses! In most third world countries which makes up the majority of the human population simply uses water instead of paper. There is this calculation that says if people in India and China would use toilet paper like the west does there wouldn’t be a tree left in this world

4. GENERAL AWARENESS:

Electricity: Train yourself to use as little electricity as you can.Water: Again train yourself to use as little as you can. Remember water is probably the most valuable resource on earth.Internet: Use it wisely. Being connected means using great amounts of electricity. Work offline as much as you can use ecofriendly search engines like www.ecosia.org/Bank: Use a social and ecological bank to store your money. – www.gabv.org/gls-bankFashion: Buy cloth if truly needed only. Buy it second hand or even look out for free stuff like free boxes,
buy it local, possibly even right where it is produced, buy from brands you know they are OK.Laundry: Do it yourself. Buy biodegradable soap and hand wash it your self as much as you can.
Most washing powder is toxic. We just should not use that stuff or let anyone else use it for us!

Environmental philosophy

I have come to understand that the way for change is mindfulness at the very start. Being mindful with the stuff that surrounds us. Asking where does it come from? Who made it? How did it get here? How must life have been before the invention of that item? Is there possibly another way, to get what I want without it? Can I do it myself?

The time factor. Even if we have a very busy schedule, there normally can be time for so many different things.
Often we just seem to believe it is better to spend our free time with computing, watching Tv, drinking an all the many distractions. If we could try living closer to reality, to nature, to what surrounds us, closer to our friends and family and neighbours we would understand that we belong together. Not just for entertainment, we actually belong together.
cooperation not competition!

Understanding that every of the items we are using causes suffering but happiness.
Suffering in the buddhist understanding goes way beyond our normal concept of it.
The process of manufacturing causes suffering in form of exploitation and often inhumane working conditions.Suffering on the earth. Resources are exploited from the earth. Even the owner of the factory suffers from stress, worry about lose of money lose of profit etc. We the consumer suffer. We have to work to earn money to buy things, we crave for it, we identify with it, we get sick of it, we worry we could lose it, worry that it may break or people steal it from us etc. An ever repeating chain of suffering! We can try breaking it. At least to some extend.

In any way whether vagabond or couch potato and everything in between it applies to everyone and we all can change!

It is not a about big changes and not about changing the world it is about changing yourself and benefitting from it not lacking anything, and by doing so, being an inspiration for change to others as well!

Please add information’s by writing them in the comment section.
I am more then happy to edit my text with new info’s!!!